


King and Lionheart

by MalMuses



Series: Gabriel Monthly Challenges [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Challenge fic, King Gabriel, Knight Sam Winchester, M/M, Might be more later - Freeform, Miscommunication, One Shot, Pirates, Public Display of Affection, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 04:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalMuses/pseuds/MalMuses
Summary: When Lionheart Sam Winchester and his King, Gabriel, reach home after a long voyage, Sam is unsure where they stand on dry land.





	King and Lionheart

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is the first time I've done the Gabriel Monthly Challenge. Little ficlets like this always help me break through writers block on my bigger things, and it seems silly to sit on them and never share. Though, unfortunately, in this particular case... this fic might have inspired something bigger.
> 
> Please go give it a reblog on tumblr if you enjoyed it! [The post is here!](https://malmuses.tumblr.com/post/182505504327/king-and-lionheart-a-gabriel-monthly-challenge)

Cresting waves met the side of the boat with soft crashes, underlying the melody of the many gulls and terns flying overhead. They swooped and screeched, gleeful and glad for the end of the storm. The inky clouds that had shrouded the bay for near four months scuttled away, fleeing behind the mountains, taking with them the weight of fear that had crushed the stone city below.

In the sea, still painted black and waiting for the sun, floated the King’s finest vessel.  _ The Archangel  _ drifted her way towards the shore, one final time. Creatures lurked below the deck; they would have to offload much more than soldiers and goods, after the epic journey they had endured. But the beast was trapped, encased in this vessel, at the King’s command.

Sam stood on deck, adjusting his stance automatically as the ship rolled in the settling sea. He’d had four months, after all, to get used to the motion. Dry land was his fear, now. Everything would change once his feet greeted solid ground.

He didn’t want it to change.

He wanted to see his brother and his new brother-in-law, he wanted to visit old Bobby and regale him with tales of the ocean. But he didn’t want to leave this place, where everything he knew about himself and his kingdom had changed. 

The crew, what was left of them, scurried around; ropes flew, sails rippled, crates and barrels shunted and rolled. It was the most organized chaos Sam had ever seen, and as young as he was, he was already certain he’d never see the like again. The sea was a whole other world, and those who routinely rode it were people so unlike his own.

“Don’t want to go?” Gabriel asked quietly, moving up behind Sam on the deck, his footsteps hidden in the noise.

Sam jumped. “No, I don’t. But then, at the same time, I do.” 

They stood side-by-side, the only silence on the vessel the one that stretched heavily between them. Sam flicked his eyes sideways, sliding them over Gabriel, taking him in and memorizing every golden wave and every new wrinkle he’d gained on this trip. He was regal, his crown already atop his head ready to disembark. It was a bejeweled, heavy, gold thing that looked totally out of place on Gabriel’s soft hair. He didn’t wear it often. Gabriel was a good king, but he wasn’t good at  _ being _ a king. 

“They won’t wait,” Gabriel said, gesturing to the crowds gathering on the shore. 

“I know.”

“We’re here to stay, Sam,” Gabriel reassured him. “We won’t go to sea again. Not as long as the kingdom is safe. You can trust me that this is the last stop, I promise you.”

“I know,” Sam said, while thinking,  _ That’s not it, that’s not the problem at all. _

In the glistening sunlight that was beginning to spill across the crowded dock, Gabriel’s crown lit the way. They moved slowly, past the wondering eyes of the ones they left behind. 

“King Gabriel! King Gabriel!” Voices throbbed out from the gathered folk. “He returned to us—and look! That’s Dean Winchester’s brother, the king's knight! Sam the Lionheart!” 

Sam grit his teeth, stepping hastily along in Gabriel’s wake as he plowed his way through the dry ocean of citizens, like yet another ship cutting through the spray. Sam hated that name. He hated how different it made him, how it separated him not just from the rest of the garrison, but from Gabriel, too.

“He’s just some knight, never mind him, look at the king! Look at his crown!”

Gabriel stopped, his solid back suddenly cutting short Sam’s steps with a fleshy  _ thunk. _

_ “Oof— _ Sorry, Gabe,” Sam muttered into his shoulder blade.

But Gabriel ignored him, his honey-gold eyes searching the crowd. People fell slowly silent, wondering what was happening. Once his voice could be heard, Gabriel spoke; calm and firm.

“Sam is my Lionheart, and I am his King. I am his as much as he is mine, and he will sit as an equal with me. Pay him plenty of mind, because I do.”

Sam heart skipped a beat, then swelled with warmth and devotion at such a rapid pace that tears stung at his eyes with the intensity of it.

“Gabriel?”

As the King turned, his golden eyes were awash with confusion. “Did you think that things would change now, Sam? Now that we’re back on dry land?”

The driest thing was suddenly Sam’s mouth. “Yes, your highness. I was afraid that—I mean, I’m not—”

“You’re my Lionheart. Be proud of it, Sam. I gave you that name for a reason, you know. Your bravery and devotion saved my life, and so much more. You thought you didn’t have a chance with me?” Gabriel said, quiet, but understanding. “You’re completely wrong.”

“But I’m—” 

Gabriel’s hand came forward, effectively silencing Sam with the simplest of motions, linking their fingers and pulling them together, stood equally, chest to chest. “What are you, and what am I?”

Gabriel’s voice was commanding, demanding. Most people wouldn’t hear the underlying tease in it, wouldn’t know how Gabriel was when he wasn’t  _ King _ Gabriel; how he’d been in the months they’d spent together. The Gabriel that had claimed Sam had been playful, wild, almost childish at times. Sam hadn’t dared dream that  _ this _ Gabriel, the regal, royal Gabriel, would claim him too.

Breathless, unsure, Sam didn’t speak. 

Gabriel was right there, half the kingdom peering across their private moment. His lips held back, waiting, but Sam could see the twitch in them. The tiny fear that the King wouldn’t, shouldn’t, show, but yet was written all over the man that Sam knew. He needed Sam, he wanted Sam, and he was afraid that his stupid, heavy crown would cost him that.

“What are we?” Gabriel asked again, quieter, choking.

Sam smiled, squeezing his hands back. A good knight wouldn’t leave his King to stand alone, and a good friend and lover wouldn’t leave him doubting.

“You’re my king, and I’m your Lionheart,” Sam said, before the kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> ...and there we go! What did you think? Would you like to see more of this AU, and find out the epic tale of how Sam and Gabriel ended up here? Let me know!
> 
> You can find me on tumblr [here.](https://malmuses.tumblr.com/)


End file.
